sweet tatas

So effectively, a SmartCar with a $12,500 discount.

Buying one per year for commuting would likely work out to be a smart financial decision. Note I said "financial"....

So THAT's who jacked the wheels from my Tercel!

"Rounded jellybean shape". I hope that's not in the official literature for the car. Food imagery does not normally work with cars, i.e. "Pinto" or "Rabbit".

Aw, man, the Tercel's 12" wheels are freakin' Gangsta Hoops compared to these 9" doughnuts....

It's a re-bodied golf cart with a lawn mower engine in it. That "T" might was well stand for Toro.

So how long do you think it will be before someone is cruisin' one of these down the street with 22" spinners? Wait... do they do that crap in India too?

If this doesn't disintegrate in accidents, it's going to be a staggering amount of fun. Imagine rallying one...

Look at that wheelwell gap. Definitely some room for either giant rims (whose rotational inertia will probaly exceed engine torque) or lowering springs.

I can't wait for the first Porsche hack into this rear engined bad boy. This is what the Panamera should have been.
Although I really don't want to think of the consequences of that hollow steering tube. Any company that once tried out only three brake pads on a four wheeled car has got to bring the safety "surprises".

One of these will probably qualify for the 24 Hours of Lemons after as little as 18 months of depreciation.

That's $1250 per Tata.

@acarr260: I'm willing to bet the engine wouldn't put out enough power to rotate 22-inchers, but who knows. I thought they have bigger problems worth spending their money on, such as non-portable housing and food.

"To save just $10, Tata engineers redesigned the suspension to eliminate actuators in the headlights, the levelers that adjust the angle of the beam depending on how the car is loaded"

Ummm, my car doesn't have those. Most cars I know don't have them. What an odd thing to point out here: "We didn't include many things found on HID-equipped Lexus vehicles." Really?

@halfshaft: Is that a good rate? Doesn't it depend on how big you want them to be?

And by the way. Where do I go to school to become a "Tata engineer?"

@ash78: I think most cars these days have the manually operated levellers, which is what they're probably referring to.

@Tanshanomi: Well, yeah, that and whether you want them to be trapezoidinal an' all.

so no ipod or bluetooth huh?
well maybe they will throw in a COBY boombox or something
and one of those fans that clip on to a baseball cap

@ash78: Nothing like a rotational inertia joke! Only on Jalopnik I guess.

How much does adding the lawn mower blade (for enhanced utility) cost?

@Tanshanomi: They keep rejecting my application for Tata tester...

BTW, what's the big deal here? $2500 tatas have been on display every night ('cept some holidays) at Cheetahs, The Landing Strip, Studio 4 (right off the bridge), etc for years...

MentalFloss ran a post yesterday that mentioned Tata building compressed air-powered versions of these bad boys. That'd be an interesting combination.

Bicycle pump not included.

@thunder: Inflatable tatas?

Jelly Bean??? Bertie Botts Every Flavored TaTas???

Re: adjustable headlamps

What's worse is, the DOT, in their infinite wisdom, actually wouldn't let this feature in the country when it was standard, elsewhere, so the vacuum-adjustable lights which are de-riguer in Europe on my 20-year-old S-class Benz are instead repalced with the equivalent of six C-cell Maglites duct-taped to the hood.

While I'd love to have this feature, it's tough to find one intact in a salvage yard....

Hollow axle tube. Wheel bearings that stress at speeds above 45mph. 30-35 hp engine.

I would like to suggest a PayPal donation slot for a new Jalopnik feature. If we all chip in a few bucks we can buy one and run it through a bunch of road and off-road courses to see how long it lasts, with the documented results posted here. I volunteer to drive.

A Tata with a 'busa up its arse = The best of Hindu hoonage!

I bet Harbor Freight will start carrying these. Make sure you get the 2 year replacement warranty.

This company is going to own Aston Martin? I think I'm going to cry.

Laugh now, folks... In five years, millions and millions of people worldwide will be driving these and similar cars.

And buying gas for them.

$3/gal. will seem cheap.

@sgodun: I bet Top Gear beats us to it.

I remember reading an interesting bit that said, basically, that 3-wheeled vehicles like this are pretty common in India...but that many people see 3-wheelers as a "poor vehicle" and a 4-wheeler as an "up-and-comer" vehicle. This article included many humorous quotes from young Indian males who made reference to picking up girls.

CO2 be damned, it's all about the Punani (that's Hindi for something or other)

$2500 for some Tata's. A Tijuana boob job for sure. Miss Hooters Canada told me she payed $10000 for hers.

"$2500 Tatas To Be Shown Thursday."

[Insert Pamela Anderson joke here.]

$2500 is what a decent 15 HP electric-start outboard goes for in the West. If that price can buy a whole car in India, what could they build an outboard for?

@Tanshanomi:

I think the more important question is: how much could they do a boob job for?

And BTW, I don't think a $2500 tata would be in any way described as "bodasous".

If I drove up in one of those where I live, a lot of my neighbors and the restaurant a few feet away from me would probably smile a bit; they're here because of GE and Humana, if you're curious.

Also, Tata's a fun--and funny--word to say. Kinda like chicken and waffles.

@Fitty7lax: I think you mean Jaguar and/or Land Rover. Weird nonetheless, especially considering how long India was a British colony.

I can't help but think these comments will sound about like commentary on Toyotas did in the 60s.

I'm just wondering how long it'll last in the Indian Well of Death.

@Kelly:

Except that a Smart actually protects its occupants pretty well. I think with this Tata, we can expect that the occupants will be protecting the back of the seat from the steering column.

@smokeydog001: Wouldn't that make you a Hoondu?

Cheaper than my wife's tatas.

@TCameron: Could you post us a picture so we can compare it with these tatas?